ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE: Ebenezer helps bring back a business ministry and mission to historic Auburn Avenue

On the tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., the message is: “I LOVE EVERYONE. STILL IN BUSINESS. JUST MOVED UPSTAIRS.

The legacy of “Daddy King” — as he was known to close friends and family — will live on through the M.L. King Sr. Community Resource Complex, which is under construction next to Ebenezer Baptist Church. King Sr. was a pastor at Ebenezer — a role he shared with his son — Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

On Sunday afternoon, Ebenezer held a program spotlighting the “business” side of Daddy King — someone who combined his religious teachings with economic lessons of self-sufficiency.

His daughter, Christine King Farris, said Daddy King had a mind for business.

“He knew how to handle his funds,” Farris said. “That’s how he got on the board of directors of Citizens Trust Bank. I almost followed him. I worked at Citizens Trust, and I majored in economics.”

King Sr. joined the board of Citizens Trust in the 1950s, where he served for several decades.

“Daddy King struggled with whether he wanted to be a businessman or a preacher,” said John Hope Bryant at the Ebenezer program on Sunday. “He did both.”